This weekend passed was the Maker Faire Detroit. Its a wild collection of DIYers, inventors, scientists, crafters, and creators, showcasing everything from robotics to beadwork. In addition to the booths, many of the spectators will also show up with their own inventions too, so its a fantastic mix of interaction both in the crowd and in the tents. This year there was a sofa zooming around the fair grounds with a remote controlled by the person lounging…best seat in the house.
Checking out the Lifesize MouseTrap! demo
Last year was the first year that Detroit hosted it, and R and I were able to go. What a great time! Of course, last year I was sick as a dog because of morning sickness, but we were still able to enjoy the event. Some things changed from last year to this year. First of all, much bigger turn out. We had a hard time finding parking, and there were about twice as many exhibits. It was great. I am not a lover of crowds, but I am a lover of events like this, which need people to continue. So I am happy when interest is shown…it means the event can continue in future years.
Who doesn't love a sign that directs you to food, music AND robots?
But this year, there were STORMTROOPERS. There was a booth with a group of people who create Star Wars replicas and they were there answering questions about how they do what they do. They had a couple of guys walking around in StormTrooper armor in order to show off the handiwork. And TinyOne just happened to be in her Star Wars onesie (I may or may not have seen a picture of the StormTroopers tweeted by The Henry Ford before we left for the event)! So of course my main mission for the day was to get a picture of her with the Storm Troopers.
We weren’t able to find them until after lunchtime, and when we did see them they were coming off of a tiring round of photo-ops I’m sure. (And it was HOT out. Those poor people. I can’t imagine the suits being very cooling.) So I followed them and got in line behind about 4 kids who also wanted their picture taken. I kept stepping forward when one kid was done just to have another one dart out and snake my spot. Man, kids are FAST. I eventually got up there and got a quick pic snapped.
After a high speed chase and a showdown with a bunch of kids, I was able to get a quick photo!
It wasn’t exactly what I had envisioned – I wanted to not be in the picture at all (never mind the sweatypuffydisheveled). I would have loved to have gotten a picture of just the StormTroopers holding TinyOne, but I felt I couldn’t ask that in the whir of the moment. No big deal. It was worth it to see a StormTrooper tickle her tummy and then pose all serious-like for the picture! And as an added bonus, we also got a picture of my husband feeding her to a Rancor. But I’m not posting that one, because my husband has rights to post that one as he sees fit. Fun fact; as we were taking the Rancor photos one dude walked by and told us our kid was going to spend a lifetime in therapy and it would be our fault. He’s probably right.
The apex of the Strongman tower at the Theatre Bizzare.
Great event. I am looking forward to seeing how it evolves for next year as well.
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Tags: Art/Craft, Baby, Detroit, DIY, Invention, Maker Faire, Photo-op, Star Wars, StormTrooper, The Henry Ford, Tradition
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Sounds like you guys had a blast in spite of the heat!
It is hard not to feel kinda bad for those guys in the Storm Trooper outfits. I’m sure you’re right about how hot they were. I think I would have asked for built in A/C in mine!
Ha! If the suits carried their own a/c units, forget a photo-op. I would’ve tackled them to put the suit on myself
How cool! I didn’t even know that things like this existed! Love the Storm Trooper photo.
Events like this make up for not having an annual Pet Parade
I’m not sure anything makes up for that … but it certainly comes close
All of a sudden, I feel the need to see if there are any Maker Faires in the UK…